John Jefferson Bray
The Honourable Dr. John Jefferson Bray, AC (16 September 1912 - 26 June 1995) was an Australian poet, lawyer, academic, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia. Life Family Born in Adelaide, South Australia, into a family with a history of involvement in South Australian politics and current affairs, Bray was grandson of former Premier of South Australia]], the Honourable Sir John Cox Bray (Premier of South Australia 1881-1884), and the elder son of Harry Midwinter Bray (1879–1965), an Adelaide stock broker, and his wife, Gertrude Eleanore (Stow) (from a family of Congregationalist missionaries in South Australia). On his mother's side, Bray claimed a collateral relationship to the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson. Education Bray was educated at Sevenhill state school in the Clare Valley; St. Peter's College, Adelaide; and the University of Adelaide, where he earned a B.A. in 1932, an LL.B.(Hons.) in 1933, and an LL.D. in 1937. He was also granted an Honorary Doctorate in 1983. Legal career Bray trained as a lawyer and was admitted to the South Australian Bar in 1933. He was acting lecturer in jurisprudence at the University of Adelaide for the years 1941, 1943, 1945 and 1951. He was created a Q.C. in 1957. He served as a lecturer in Legal History at the University of Adelaide from 1957 until 1958, and then as a lecturer in Roman Law from 1959 until 1966. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia on 28 February 1967 and served until his retirement from the judiciary on 28 November 1978. Bray was appointed Chancellor of the University of Adelaide in 1968. He also served as Deputy to the Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia from 1968 until retirement. He described his views as "æsthetic - traditional; social - emancipated; political - fluctuating" and his philosophies as "sceptical, some tendencies to Platonism" Recognition Bray was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1979, and is said to have refused a knighthood. He is commemorated by the John Bray Poetry Award, given annually as part of the Adelaide Festival Awards. Publications Poetry * Poems. Melbourne: F.W. Cheshire, 1962. * Poems, 1961-1971. Milton, Qld: Jacaranda Press, 1972. * Poems 1972-1979. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1979. *''The Bay of Salamis, and other poems''. Unley, SA: Friendly Street Poets, 1986. *''The Emperor's Doorkeeper, and other poems''. Adelaide: University of Adelaide Foundation, 1988. *''Tobacco: A valedictory, and other poems''. Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1990. *''Seventy-seven''. Kent Town, SA: Wakefield Press, 1990. *''Collected Poems, 1962-1991''. St. Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, 2000. Plays *''Three Verse Plays''. Adelaide: Literary executors of the late Dr.J.J. Bray, 2001. Non-fiction *''Gallienus: A study in reformist and sexual politics''. Kent Town, SA: Wakefield Press, 1997. Kent Town, SA: Wakefield Press, 1997. Collected editions *''Satura: Selected poetry and prose''. Adelaide: Wakefield Press, 1988. Edited *''No. 7 Friendly Street Poetry Reader'' (edited with Jan Owen). Unley, SA: Friendly Street Poets, 1983. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:John Jefferson Bray, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 14, 2014. See also * List of Australian poets References *''Australian Who's Who'' (see also similar Australia, British, and international biographical publications), *''The Bray Family of England, Canada, and Australia'' (1986), deposited in the libraries of the Hampshire Family History Society and the South Australian Society for Genealogy and Heraldry. References External links ;Books * Works by or about John Jefferson Bray in libraries (WorldCat catalog). ;About *John Jefferson Bray at SA People Category:1912 births Category:1995 deaths Category:Companions of the Order of Australia Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia Category:People from Adelaide Category:Australian poets Category:Australian academics Category:Australian lawyers Category:University of Adelaide alumni Category:People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets